Monday, January 14, 2008

Job: ConsultantProblem: Lost in the JungleTo be done: Find a way to reach a city

There was a time when Consulting mean Management Consulting. Consultants were heavily paid individual from MC companies like Mckinsey and BCG. Companies and big Business groups often called them and asked to their suggestions.

But Consulting was not that alone. Fair Isaac has been providing Analytics based Consulting services for the last 50 years and they have helped companies grow in their own way. Analytics Consultant helped business managers to understand the existing operations, the pros and cons of the decisions made etc.

The third too existed, Market Research Consulting. This is some where between the first two. This is about knowing Market and planning ahead to catch the opportunity that Market throws. TNS and AC Nielson are the major players in this area.

All three have existed and done well. They did not compete but worked together to help companies grow. But they never talk with each other.

Let us take a case where there were three consultants, one each from the above mentioned three areas, and they are given the problem. The report would be something like this:

1. Management ConsultantIt looks like there is a way forward. Every such pave leads to a road and when the road is followed, you land up in a city. Go ahead and you will reach a city.

2. Analytics ConsultantYou have so far traveled some X kms. Whenever you have walked a road, you have reached a town; Whenever you have traveled a lane, it has ended in a jungle; whenever you have moved through the jungle, you have ended in a river etc. You have reached here by crossing a river and the other side of the river was having a road. You might have to get back to the other side of the river and follow the road, that may take you to the city.

3. Market Research ConsultantThere are three lanes, two rivers and twenty different types of trees, and there are twenty other parties in the jungle who are going to the city. Two are following a narrow lane and rest are going from the jungle. Now you decide, what you want to do.

The Winners: Management ConsultantReason: They were confident and strongly proposed a action.

The group decided to follow what the Management consultant said, and now they are walking down the lane ........ Today they reached a road and are thankful to the Consultant ...... reached a town and are taking the dinner ..... next morning they again started the journey but the Group finds no way to pass the town as the other side of the town is the Indian Ocean.